Leading 5 ways your company can benefit from social networks

Leading 5 ways your company can benefit from social networks

Social network is a buzzword around the Houston Business Journal workplaces these days as our Social Madness competitors heats up and as we continue to enhance the newsroom's online existence.

Social Madness encourages regional businesses to step up their social media video game and get people engaged with their companies, beginning with a Houston-only competition that will send out 3 finalists from our area into a nationwide event.

I'm typically asked why social media matters, and how something relatively so nebulous to some people can be so crucial.

Social media assists enhance all the fundamental pillars of good business, such as engaging with the general public, converting on-the-fence observers into revenue-generating clients, and dealing with customer service concerns.

Here are 5 of the biggest advantages to social media:

1. Customer engagement. A basic search on a social networks website is the best start. If you're attempting to present your company, a search can help you discover a community of people thinking about your field. If people are already speaking about your brand, you can participate in the conversation. If the conversation is positive, introduce a call to action to motivate people to purchase. If you hear a negative comment, fend off those potential hazards by setting the record straight. The best part? Social network is conversational in nature, so people wish to talk. Connect, and you'll be pleased with the results.

2. Profits production. Social media broadens your direct exposure, increases traffic to your website, develops interest in what you offer, and gives you the chance to use promos or specials to seal the deal. The social media website Pinterest is a great example of how social media can assist you meet income objectives. According to data from Emily Carr read more University of Art and Design mentioned in the Harvard Business Review, website almost 1 in 5 Pinterest users "pin" something they later buy online. Information from shopify.com discovered that buyers referred to an online website from Pinterest are 10 percent most likely to buy.

However not simply retailers can take advantage of social networks. Check out American Express's material marketing campaign, Open Forum. AmEx developed an online community of short articles and resources for company owner, sponsored by the brand name but not directly selling anything. The goal is to supply a service and then develop commitment that will transfer to other business deals.

3. Building loyalty. Consumers are more likely to stay with your brand name if they trust you. Social network can boost this. If you can show that your business lives by its values, individuals with the exact same values will respond-- and those images of your office Halloween party play a role, offering a peek of your character to make your company stick out.

Social network enhances the relationship with customers by establishing open lines of communication. If a customer tweets a question or problem about a brand name and is right away answered, that actually enhances the bond with the brand name. Exist in the discussion and customers will appreciate it.

4. Thought management. You can get in touch with read more your fans and fans, and meet brand-new ones, by dropping the salesmanship and engaging in an intellectual discussion about your location of proficiency. Franklin Templeton Investments is a good example of a company utilizing Facebook advantageously. The company's Facebook page posts important tidbits like real-time market updates, quotes from Benjamin Franklin and links to longer article written by investors. Not every post directly involves the trading of bonds or stocks, but by offering insight to financiers, a company can demonstrate that it knows exactly what it's talking about, and people might consider doing business with it the next time.

5. Search engine optimization. As much as word-of-mouth works, lots of people go straight to Google to search for what they need. Having active accounts on different social networks websites can help place your company higher in page rankings and more likely to show up in a search.

Believe you're all set to obtain begun? Believe you need assist boosting exactly what you currently have? Hope you'll look for my continuing series of posts about how best to get going on various social networks websites.